Lord, Remember Me: The Thief on the Cross

In the Sunday morning service, Brother Ryan Payne brought the message following Pastor Parker’s reading of Luke 23:32-43, the account of the two thieves crucified alongside the Lord Jesus at Calvary. Painting the scene of the crucifixion in vivid detail – the scourging foretold in Isaiah 53:5, the crown of thorns, and the superscription written in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew declaring “This is the King of the Jews” – he showed how the mockery of the crowd, the soldiers, and the thieves all hinged on the little word “if,” yet there are no ifs about it: Jesus is the great I Am, the way, the truth, and the life. From the dying thief’s plea, “Lord, remember me,” the message unfolded in five points: the conviction of the thief, who came to fear God; his confession, owning that he suffered justly for his deeds; the cleanliness of Christ, who had “done nothing amiss” and was made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21); the calling, as the thief exercised remarkable faith in a crucified Savior he had never seen work a miracle; and the covering, as Jesus promised, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Though the thief’s hands and feet were nailed to a cross, his eyes, mouth, and heart were free to look to Christ and call upon Him. Turning to Matthew 26:20-25, Brother Payne contrasted the disciples’ question, “Lord, is it I?” with Judas’s telling words, “Master, is it I?” – the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge, a distance of only eighteen inches. Heaven, he reminded the congregation, is not a reward for the righteous but a gift for the guilty, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The service closed with an invitation to trust Christ today, for today is the day of salvation.